Level of Education of Students Involved

Undergraduate

Faculty Sponsor

Lauren Sestito

College

Engineering

Discipline(s)

Bioengineering

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 4-25-2024

Abstract

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a neglected tropical mosquito-borne disease caused by the transmission of parasitic nematodes that nest in the lymphatic system. This causes severe symptoms like lymphedema, and can have socioeconomic effects for the individuals and geographical areas affected. Because of limited drug access to adult worms residing within lymphatic vessels, treatment options for LF are currently limited. Liposomal drug delivery systems show great potential in this field because of their biocompatibility, payload flexibility, and targeting ability. The goal of this research is thus to synthesize a panel of liposomes over a broad size range which will be used to investigate the impact of liposome properties on lymphatic uptake of orally administered LF drugs. Liposomes were composed of phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol and were synthesized using the thin-film hydration method. Liposome diameter was characterized using a Horiba LA960 particle size analyzer. Control of product size was tested by varying synthesis conditions like the molar ratio of phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol and resuspension concentration. The impact of processing methods like bath sonication and filtering with 1 micron and 0.22 micron hydrophilic filters were also assessed. This project improves our understanding of how synthesis conditions impact liposome characteristics, enabling future testing of the impact of these characteristics on drug access to the lymphatic system.

Biographical Information about Author(s)

Anna Fay is a junior biomedical engineering major. She is interested in the many applications of liposomal drug delivery systems and has been doing research with Dr. Sestito since the fall of 2023.

Download

Share

COinS